


Under the Moon | 月下

by lalunaticscribe



Series: A Land Within the Four Seas [3]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Almost like Jianghu, Alternate Universe - Historical, Anal Sex, Ancient China, Ancient China AU, And angst, Clan Politics, Clothes Make the Superman, Court Politics, Deadly Decadent Courts, Don't Lose Your Way, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Full-Contact Magic, Hiatus, Historical Fantasy, Historical References, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Magical Clothing, Married Couple, Married Life, Men who have sex with men, Mystery, Other, Political Intrigue, Politics and Magic, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, References to Chinese Mythology, Royal Politics, Same-Sex Marriage, Secrets, Standalone, Time Travel, Trust Issues, What Have I Done, Women Being Awesome, Worldbuilding, Writing Exercise, Wuxia tropes, Xianxia, cultivation, feels like a standard romance novel...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-02-22 04:36:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13159407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalunaticscribe/pseuds/lalunaticscribe
Summary: “Hong Yuan, Hong Yuexia. The Grandmaster of the JieJue Sect.”“...oh.”The news took Yan Hong by surprise, and no small amount of fear, for the world of cultivators and supernatural dangers which his family had left was now coming for them.~`*'~Yan Hong believed his royal husband Lí Chang, when Lí Chang claimed their marriage as reparation for a past life: when Lí Chang did many wrongs to Yan Hong and the late Emperor managed to execute everyone in a fit of imperial paranoia.The only thing that he could not believe, was that the JieJue Sect's late Grandmaster would send Lí Chang back in time for free. Generations ago, this same Grandmaster tied the Yan ancestors to serve him, the spectre of service to a godly figure still hanging about, generations even after his death.Fortunately, Lí Chang agreed with him.Unfortunately, this ended up with Lí Chang having nightmares of war, practicing his weapons nightly, and spending all hours in the Imperial Library.The red thread tightens. They hang, puppets to their fates against which they struggle.___23 May 2018: Currently under rewrite following canon reconstruction.





	1. 序幕: Sunrise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheMadCatQueen69](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMadCatQueen69/gifts).
  * Inspired by [All Under Heaven | 普天之下](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12618132) by [lalunaticscribe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalunaticscribe/pseuds/lalunaticscribe). 



> All names, unless otherwise noted, are put in the Chinese style of surname before first name.

#  序幕: Sunrise

This is the empire of Great Yang, written for the rising sun.

In the twentieth year of the era of Changgeng, fearing the growing power of the Crown Prince Lí Xi, the Emperor of Great Yang resolved to depose of him.

Complicit in this act was the Gracious Consort Bai and her clan, including the Right Chancellor Bai Sù, who were advocating for the deposal of the Crown Prince in favour of the Consort’s son – the fifth imperial son Li Rong, Royal Prince of Rongyu.

Claiming to possess foreknowledge of the event, the second imperial son Lí Chang, Royal Prince of Yongchang, began to act against his imperial father for the inheritance of his older brother.

With his own martial might, honed from expanding the borders of Great Yang, Lí Chang could perhaps contend with the Chancellor. However, some bond of fate as claimed by himself, led him to the Royal Tailor Yan Hong. As son of the Left Chancellor Yan Kou, Yan Hong furnished Lí Chang with a plan and advised him in the strategy of quick action.

Yan Hong then entered the Yongchang Royal House as the Prince Consort of Yongchang in pomp and circumstance. The wedding expenses was of such magnitude, that the ceremony expenses had the Imperial Censorate investigating for months for wrongdoing on the part of the notorious Prince of Yongchang. This, however, was enough to distract the Emperor’s spies from the Royal Prince’s preparations for rebellion.

In the twenty-first year of Changgeng, Lí Chang stormed the palace under the banner of ‘clearing the Court of villains’.1 In an act which had no precedent and would have no followers in the history of Great Yang, Lí Chang thus slew the Chancellor Bai, and placed the Emperor’s personal residence the Beiji Palace under house arrest.

After the event, the Emperor’s edict of abdication was announced to all under the heavens. Crown Prince Lí Xi took the yellow robe upon his person, and changed the era name to Chenxi, meaning ‘the rays of the sunrise’.

Having received the Mandate of the Heavens, Lí Xi’s first few edicts were as followed: firstly, to elevate his imperial father to Retired Emperor; secondly, to elevate the Emperor’s primary spouse Imperial Lord Xun Shi to Imperial Grand Lord; and, finally, to promote Gracious Consort Bai, who had escaped the fate which had befallen the rest of her clan, to Imperial Consort Dowager. In light of the circumstances, and fearing for the end of his brother’s bloodline in consideration of an inability to bear children on the part of both males of the Yongchang Royal House, the Crown Prince now Emperor gave his own third royal son Lí Xù for adoption by the couple, proclaiming the Yongchang Royal House as pillars of the Great Yang.

In the first year of Chenxi, the Retired Emperor returned to the heavens at the age of fifty-four. After a state mourning which stretched for twenty days, Lí Qiming was given his era name as a temple name and enshrined in the imperial family temple, and thus he entered the history of Great Yang as the Changgeng Emperor.

After the funeral, the Royal Prince of Yongchang absented himself from the Court, and moved to the Department of Secret Books. Months passed in relative silence before the desperate Prince Consort of Yongchang broke into the Palace Library to confront his lord husband at last. When asked, the Prince of Yongchang claimed that he was researching the one who had sent him back in time, enabling him to change fate:

“Hong Yuan, Hong Yuexia. The Grandmaster of the JieJue Sect.”

“...oh.”

The news took Yan Hong by surprise, and no small amount of fear, for the world of cultivators and supernatural dangers which his family had left was now coming back for them.

 

* * *

**1 ‘Clearing the sides of the Emperor’ 清君侧 is an Ancient Chinese slogan for rebellion, claiming that the current Emperor is being controlled/hypnotised by powerful officials, consorts or eunuchs, and thus ‘saving’ the empire by murdering these villains who act against the interests of the state.**


	2. 第一卷第一回：Intimacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While his husband had his back turned to try and nap before morning Court, Yan Hong tried to relax himself. The world of cultivators, which had seemed so distant since their branch of the family left to settle in Yemu, the capital of Great Yang, was now reaching its red threads out, ready to strangle them, but it was not yet his secret to tell.

#  第一卷：Warp

##  第一回：Intimacy

The veil of night woven by the Weaver Maid has led him here again, to the Red Cliffs.

The Tongtian River, also called the River Passing Through Heaven, originates from the roofs of the world, plunges down from the highest mountains to wind around the land within the Four Seas. An immense veil of peaceful waves masks the watery abyss where fish and turtles feasted on the corpses of soldiers fallen. The drums of thunder beat in time to the flashes of lightning overhead, the curtain of the River being whisked away in this river battle between the Navies of Great Yang and Ling.

“Dye the River red!”

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

“Dye it all… dye them all red!”

Boats and towered ships rocked unsteadily, Lí Chang unable to gain a good grip for dear life. Even the masterful navy generals were giving desperate orders, abandoning ship. Hooks and ropes were being thrown from the Ling ships, the northern Ling army which was supposed to be a dry duck already seizing onto his flagship.

“Your Highness!” General Xing groaned. “You have to abandon the ship!”

“I will not-! This battle will determine the peace of Great Yang!” Lí Chang hollered back over the winds and storm. “Our land army can fend off the Ling army, but once that navy gets past the Tongtian, we can forget about gaining a single moment of peace! For your wives, children and elders, get those ropes off the ship!”

The _clack_ of wood resounded as a figure in red flew from the Ling ship to come aboard, a wave of soldiers dying for Great Yang in its wake. The figure in red was draped in a robe as red as blood, the embroidery of a five-clawed dragon still prominent. Decapitated human heads hung from its belt, the long hair of filial and loyal soldiers now reduced to a monster’s adornments, for only this scarlet demoness could be the famed female general of Ling, Xuan Yue.

“For my wedding dress...” The monster in human skin laughed, loud enough to create fear. “Children! My sons of Ling, here is the Prince of Yongchang! Our greatest enemy! Get his blood to dye my wedding dress…!!!”

A  head dropped from her belt, rolling to Lí Chang’s foot. A familiar face stared back up at him –  phoenix eyes opened, lips pale, hair matted in the dried blood from having his head lopped off,  all in an expression of utter terror and despair .

“Wanxia…!!!” Lí Chang drew his sword despite the rocking boat. “Monster, demoness, Raksha!”

“You?” The Princess Regent of Ling cackled back, waving her yellow sleeves streaked in blood. “You killed your own father for a tailor! Here is his dragon robe, still stained with the blood of his decapitation!”

That was not right, but Lí Chang was too incensed.  “ You broke into our imperial tombs?! You killed Wanxia… leave your life here !!! ”

“The dragon robe of Great Yang will look excellent dyed in your blood!” Xuan Yue screamed back. The next words, though, had a wrong inflection to them, as if spoken by a man:

“ _..._ _ness._ _Sire_ _…_!” 1

The waters of the Tongtian were already awash in blood, and each drop only served the dye the river even deeper in scarlet.

* * *

Lí Chang, Royal Prince of Yongchang, awoke in cold sweat and matted bedclothes.

“Your Highness, sire,” his bed companion whispered in the dimness, “...hand...”

Lí Chang’s hand relaxed from around a pale wrist. The pale wrist moved to one side, retrieving a lit candle-stick to bring close to the pair. Another hand, ending in long and quick fingers began to brush stray strands of hair from his forehead. Lit in warm light, the phoenix eyes from his nightmare creased in worry, and the lips were bitten red.

“You’re awake, Your Highness… _ah_!”

The last sound was muffled as the beautiful face was pressed immediately into Lí Chang’s chest by the latter himself. The candle was taken in a swift move and deposited back outside their canopy bed.

“Wanxia!” Lí Chang whispered the other’s courtesy name, once the threat of setting their bedclothes on fire was safely outside.

“Was it a nightmare, sire?” Yan Hong reached up, slowly tracing about Lí Chang’s collarbone up to his face, and then his fingers curled until they touched Lí Chang’s temples to press softly. “Was it... the late Emperor?”

“No…” Lí Chang sighed. “...Xuan Yue. It was Xuan Yue this time.”

“The Grand Princess Shuiyue of the Kingdom of Ling?”2 Yan Hong slowed his breathing to listen for the rabbiting beat of a heart. “The battle of Tongtian River?”

“Yes.”

“We could not have won without Your Highness,” Yan Hong started a series of press-and-release actions on Lí Chang’s temples.

“We didn’t win...” Lí Chang hissed. “The kingdom of Ling is still there, the King of Ling is still too powerful for our Great Yang to ignore, and that… that...”

“She is still a woman,” Yan Hong persuaded. “We know a ‘tiger mother’3 in Rites Minister Xing, and the unprecedented Justice Minister Bian. All three are still mortals. The Princess Shuiyue is far away in the Kingdom of Ling, Your Highness… and I will defend against her if she invades our bedroom.”

“En… as expected of the Prince Consort of Yongchang.4”

Yan Hong gave a soft inhale, and pulled his face up to look at Lí Chang. “Can you still sleep, sire?”

“I can think of some exertions to help, but it will require the Prince Consort’s help.” Lí Chang pulled Yan Hong closer, up to his lap. The milky thighs splayed across his hips on their own volition. “Wanxia, you also want me to come in, yes?”

Yan Hong reached down between them to flick one fingernail across the head of the sleeping turtle. “Last night… last night’s matter of the clouds and rain have yet to be cleaned up...”

“How...” Lí Chang shifted, and then frowned down. “I...”

“I think sire entered too harshly last night,” Yan Hong quickly interrupted, freezing before he rested his hips on the lap. The wince disrupted the mood very quickly.

“I… what was I doing last night?” Lí Chang frowned as he inspected the other male and found a prominent bite mark on Yan Hong’s left inner thigh.

“Yesterday Your Highness was at the banquet for the top martial scholars at the Yòuyuán Stage, and you won a horse race against the top scholar Xue. Sire was in such a good mood that...” Yan Hong blushed. “...sire came in for two hours.”5

“Two hours? I know my limits, surely...” Lí Chang pushed aside the slender fingers and reached down, tracing the other’s perineum to touch something wet. Drawing his fingers up, the white seed spread across his palm.

“I swear, sire enjoyed himself... like a fish who had gained water,”6 Yan Hong was as scarlet as his surname indicated.

“It was the pleasure of intimacy with the one who gives me joy,” Lí Chang murmured back, resting his forehead against Yan Hong’s own forehead. “When did my Wanxia learn to flirt?”

“I- I...” The words gave out to a moan as Lí Chang moved to pry open his buttocks. “Sire...”

“Why do I not remember our bodies joining at all?” Lí Chang’s voice was ragged, giving a quick kiss on Yan Hong’s collarbone. “I’ll help you clean it… ah, out...”

Yan Hong moaned as fingers dug in, ignoring the growing hardness between his legs to focus on the one which should be at his knee – it was there. He moved his knee closer, and it began to poke at the ring of teeth marks from last night’s drunken romp.

The little Lí Chang finally sustained enough interest for Yan Hong to lower himself onto it and start a course of the clouds and rain with a sigh of satisfaction.

Yan Hong reflected, perhaps other spouses would be jealous if their husband spent three months tussling with another woman above the Tongtian River. He knew better: the battle of Tongtian River was not exactly a battle, but a long and sustained campaign of storms, starvation, drowning, and hopeless battle against a monstrous opponent with lacklustre allies. The trauma from there extended to many survivors – Ling was now the new threat facing Great Yang from outside, and the Princess Shuiyue was the chief terror. Two years after the battle, his royal prince still jumped at the sound of firecrackers and refused to entertain the colour red.

“Sire… Chang...” The growing wetness between Yan Hong’s legs was proof that Lí Chang had found release.

Yan Hong groaned as he followed, sinking into strong arms that bore him up.

“...I forgot to clean it out.” Lí Chang laughed, a sound that brought him relief. “I...”

“Sire… I have a confession to make,”Yan Hong quavered. “I forgot to restock our balm.”

“...” When Lí Chang next spoke, his voice carried a thread of malicious joy that foretold his evil intentions. “I’ll help Wanxia… to clean it out, yes?”

“If Sire wills it,” Yan Hong trembled, a leaf in the wind that was Lí Chang.

He did not say: _if it will comfort you_. The negotiation of pride which had been drummed into him with long years of education, and Yan Hong’s own desperate and shameful love, continued even through their marriage.

Lí Chang kissed Yan Hong’s collarbone carefully, a trail of butterfly marks laid across the delicate frame. “I have to go to the Palace Library today,” his voice was rueful. “To look up the myths of Great Yang.”

“Is Sire still- ah- looking for that benefactor?” Yan Hong turned his head to expose more of his collar.

“Yes. As expected, they’re not in the Ministry of Rites’ registry of religious practitioners.7” Lí Chang yawned, settling his head back on his hard pillow. A pile of soiled bedclothes were shoved out of the bed canopy with a muffled thump.

Mournfully, Yan Hong prayed that Yanzhi was not the maid in charge of cleaning. “If they have the ability to turn back time, then they must be part of the cultivator world. One of the four families?”

“Hong Yuan, Hong Yuexia.” Lí Chang revealed. “The Grandmaster of the JieJue Sect.”

“...” Yan Hong felt the revelation like a physical force in his gut. “...Oh.”

“Wanxia, did you know?” Lí Chang clutched the other’s hand in his own. “Hong Yuexia, the Moon Elder8, led you back to me, and for that he has my gratitude. However… he said that he would collect a payment in the future. I don’t know what a god would want… and I… I am afraid of losing you. Please, stay close and never leave me.”

“...I promise on the Yan family that I, Yan Hong, courtesy name Wanxia, will never leave you.” Yan Hong swallowed. “Sire… Your Highness… I will bring lunch to you today. Please, trust me when I say that you cannot bring this up with anyone in Court.”

“Of course not.” Lí Chang patted the hand now. “Cultivators around the country never listen to the imperial court, and- and it’s hard to reveal this, anyway. How many people get the chance to relive their lives?”

“If only...” Yan Hong distantly echoed the sentiment, his mind a-whirl.

Cultivators: those who practised the mystical and martial arts to pursue immortality. Versed in cultivating _qi_ to connect with the world, it could be said that every cultivator’s ultimate goal was the dream of all living things; to live forever, young, and powerful. Hong Yuan, Hong Yuexia, was long dead, but his followers were legion and his legend prevalent enough to endure as a god amongst the common folk.

The ancestor of the Yan family was one such follower of Hong Yuan – one out of six who had pledged their entire bloodlines in service and formed the Six Harmonious Families of the JieJue Sect. The very surnames that the families took were a reflection of the Grandmaster’s own surname Hong, ‘red’. This was the reason why the Six Families carried their surnames: Yan (殷) for ‘dark red’; Xing (腥) for ‘blood red’; Zhu (朱) for ‘vermilion’, Chi (赤) for ‘bare red’, Jiang (绛) for ‘purple-red’, and Fei (绯) for ‘scarlet’. Even though generations ago the Grandmaster died, the Holy Maid Hongniang was still living for centuries, and the six clans merely turned their energies to secretly expanding their influence out of the world of rivers and lakes9, into general society, and waiting to accumulate enough power to debut back on the stage of the world.

This was the reason why Yan Hong’s surname was not pronounced with the more typical sound of Yīn, but Yān. As a son of the Great Yang’s Left Chancellor Yan Kou, Yan Hong was part of the Six Harmonious Families, and duty-bound to the sect. Even if he was already married, the duty and terror weighed in his heart.

While his husband had his back turned to try and nap before morning Court, Yan Hong tried to relax himself. The world of cultivators, which had seemed so distant since their branch of the family left to settle in Yemu, the capital of Great Yang, was now reaching its red threads out, ready to strangle them, but it was not yet his secret to tell.

* * *

**1 When addressing a prince/king in Chinese, the formal term is  殿下, which is gender-neutral and also used for Imperial Princesses. Here though is the informal term, 王爷, which is exclusively male, and I translate as ‘sire’.**

**2 The title used here is  长公主, which is usually used to refer to the sister of an emperor. This is a special exception because the Kingdom of Ling 灵国 still uses the style of King 王 and thus technically her title should be some variant of 郡主. This also illustrates the uncomfortable relationship between an empire (Great Yang) and a tributary state of growing power (Ling Kingdom).**

**3  虎妈 is is a term which refers to a strict or demanding mother who pushes her children to be successful academically by attaining high levels of scholastic and academic achievement, using methods regarded as typical of childrearing in areas of East Asia, South Asia and South-east Asia. The term is coined by Yale law professor Amy Chua in her memoir _Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother_.**

**4  I used 王夫 here, which is nowadays used to refer to the spouses of female rulers e.g. Prince Philip of Great Britain, because the typical word used to denote the spouse of a Royal Prince of the imperial family (王妃) is exclusively female. 王夫 is for all purposes equivalent to 王妃 in denoting the primary spouse of the Royal Prince.**

**5 When I use hours, I mean the 24 hours in a day instead of the twelve _shichen_ 时辰 of Ancient Chinese timekeeping.**

**6 This is a misuse of  如鱼得水‘glad to be back in one’s proper surroundings’ to refer also to the idiom 鱼水之欢‘sexual intercourse; the pleasure of close intimacy in a couple’.**

**7 The empire of Great Yang uses the Six Ministries system of government organisation, so there are Six Ministries: Rites, Personnel, Revenue, War, Justice (also called Punishments), and Works. The Ministry of Rites manage imperial court ceremonies and ritual offerings, register and supervise Buddhist/Taoist practitioners, conduct the Imperial examinations, and foreign relations.**

**8  Yue Lao 月老, the contraction of Yuexia Laoren 月下老人 is the Chinese god of matchmaking. He appears at night, and unites with the Red String of Fate all predestined couples, after which nothing can prevent their union. As a predominantly heterosexual deity, this is a different take on Yue Lao taking on the duties of homosexual couples before the advent of Tu’er Shen, the homosexual equivalent.**

**9  Jianghu 江湖 is the ‘pugilist world’ in Wuxia fiction. First coined by Zhuangzi in the late 4th century BC, it was used to describe a way of life different from that of being actively involved in politics. At the time, it referred to the way of life of underachieving or maligned scholar-officials who distanced themselves from the circles of political power. In this sense, the word could be loosely interpreted as the way of life of a hermit. Over the centuries, this word gained greater acceptance among the common people and gradually became a term used to describe a sub-society parallel to, and sometimes orthogonal to, mainstream society. This sub-society initially included merchants, craftsmen, beggars and vagabonds, but over time it assimilated bandits, outlaws and gangs who lived "outside the existing law", and also referred to gang culture. In the 20th century, the term became closely related to a similar term, "Wulin" (武林; literally "martial forest"), which referred exclusively to a community of martial artists. This fantasy world of jianghu remains as the mainstream definition of jianghu in modern Chinese popular culture, particularly Wuxia culture. Since cultivators often travel around for funny reasons and are distant from normal society, I thought that they would definitely be a part of Jianghu, just a very isolated part.**


	3. 第一卷第二回：Tigers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Grand Lord closed his eyes tightly. “...he is my son. In order to protect you, Little Hong, Chang’er will wear on his back the destiny of protecting Great Yang. It is too late for Wufeng to be his wedding suit... I will gamble that, if he finds out about Wufeng, it will become his burial clothes.”

## 第二回：Tigers

The capital of the Great Yang, Yemu. Named for ‘the curtain of night’, its naming by the founder of the Great Yang, the Taiyi Emperor was met with controversy. If the capital was to be the symbol of the Great Yang’s power, how could it be named for the night? Even the Founding General Xing, who had conquered the Great Yang by the Emperor’s side, came to blows with his chosen lord about this.

“How else can stars show their brilliance, if not for the dark of night?” was the Taiyi Emperor’s reply. “Each and every talent of my Empire must shine, as bright as a multitude of stars! This curtain of night will be their stage!”

Hence, the capital of Great Yang was the curtain of night, and the Imperial Palace was the polar galaxy. Such was how Great Yang was conceived of.

Dawn had come upon Yemu this day, a curtain of multicoloured sunlight upon the fair city. A procession of officials of all nine ranks in the surroundings assembled at the Taiwei Hall for Court, as scheduled for every three days. The lowest three ranks in ascending order of light blue, dark blue, and light green; the middle three ranks closest to the Hall doors in dark green, light red and dark red; the upper three-ranked officials of solid purple surrounded the golden presence of the Dragon Throne, framed by two smaller thrones on either side.

A woman in purple robes at the third row from the raised steps leading up to the throne commented. “His Majesty still insists on this, I see.”

She played with an ivory sceptre at her belt.1 While she could be considered handsome, there was a set to her eyes and a furrow to her brow, much like a tiger.

“His Highness the Prince of Yongchang never sits there, does he?” she continued. “So why is that empty chair still there?”

“Minister Xing, censoring the Emperor is the job of the Imperial Censorate,” the Chief Imperial Censor grumbled, but accepted the criticism. “You don’t see anyone trying to talk to you about ‘the man sings and the woman follows’, do you?”

“Would you dare?” Minister Xing Lin of the Ministry of Rites frowned back. “Chief Imperial Censor Zhu Mengcheng, your brother just failed another test. How did he get into the Imperial Academy again?”

“He fails to live up to expectations. Our Zhu family has to depend on the ‘Tiger Mother’ to make him study,” Imperial Censor Zhu Mengcheng glibly replied.

By the sidelines, the recently promoted Minister Zhang of Works just shook his head. “Old Qiu, Sister Bian, have you ever seen a Rites Minister this fierce?”

He was talking to the Ministers of Personnel and Justice respectively. While the former was an elder man of little remark, the second woman to attain high office in the Chenxi era frowned. “There is no law against bickering,” was Bian Tao’s simple answer.

The elder man of the trio opened his mouth, and then closed. “Look busy. The Prince of Rongyu is here.”

“I think it’s about time to reconsider the laws of marriage,” Bian Tao began to talk. “Since the legal code of Great Yang enshrines the principle of equality between _yin_ and _yang_ , if a man can have ‘three wives and four concubines’, why should a woman not have three husbands and four attendants?”

Behind her, His Highness Lí Rong, Royal Prince of Rongyu, blinked and caught himself, walking away from her to his position at the edge of the dais.

Minister Zhang wiped the cold sweat from his brow. “Sister Bian… why did you bring up that topic of all things? You’re proposing amendments to the laws on brokerage today, aren’t you? You know that the Prince of Rongyu has so many concubines, what if the red apricot leans over the wall?2 If there is a child, the mother is certain but the father is him to whom marriage points.”

“I know,” Bian Tao drawled. “I just said it to get away from him.”

屮艸芔茻!

Minister Zhang put his face in his hands. “...Sister Bian, now I know why you’re called the ‘Peach Blossom Misfortune’3. Old Qiu, please say something in fairness.”

“...It’s a fair question,” Minister Qiu demurely replied. “You young ones have fun, don’t bring this old man into your public displays of affection.” His eyes drifted to the side. “Ah, Your Highness Prince of Yongchang.”

“Eh, you old- Good morning to Your Highness,” Minister Zhang hurriedly appended at Lí Chang.

“Good morning to Old Minister Qiu, Minister Zhang, Minister Bian,” Lí Chang started, but could not continue as the Head Eunuch Attendant Liu appeared on the dais.

“His Majesty arrives!!!!!”

All three jumped and scurried back to face the throne.

A sacred fell over the Hall, as the eunuch announcer settled to the right of the Dragon Throne, deliberately stooping in the shadow of greatness. Shining gold caught everyone’s attention, and they beheld the five-clawed dragon embroidered on the Dragon Robe, as well as the river deity reincarnated who wore the yellow robe on his person.

“We pay our respects to the Emperor!!!”

This greeting reverberated about Taiwei Hall.

Lí Xi, the Emperor of Great Yang, gave a smile to his subjects which was brilliant and comforting at the same time. “Dispense with the formalities.”

“Many thanks to Your Majesty!!!!”

Everyone got to their feet before the Emperor simply said: “I do not see the Chancellor?”

Since the Secretariat and the Chancellery were combined into the Secretariat-Chancellery, the only Chancellor left was Chancellor Yan Kou – who also happened to be the father of Yan Hong.

The eunuch at the side coughed delicately. “...reporting to Your Majesty, this morning the Chancellor’s household reported on an urgent matter which Your Majesty might have known...”

“Ah, yes.” Lí Xi nodded. “It is a chilly winter, I worry for the Chancellor’s aged body. Liu Yi, send some more winter clothes to the Chancellor’s residence after court.”

“As you command.”

“The Grand Lord is still unwilling to attend court...?”4 Lí Xi hummed next.

About to return to his place, Liu Yi walked up again. “...the Grand Lord is at the Royal Tailor Office.”

“Oh? On official business?”

“I was not informed, Your Majesty.”

Lí Xi frowned at Lí Chang, who shrugged. Having failed to get a satisfactory response, Lí Xi could only announce: “Begin Court!”

* * *

The Royal Tailor Office was technically one of the six offices of the Department of the Palace, located in the Tianshi Palace. Responsible for the attire of all residents of the Palace city, it was staffed mainly by eunuchs, and as a rule part of the Department of Service.

However, since Chancellor Yan submitted a secret petition to the late Changgeng Emperor, the office had expanded to include a third-rank official titled as the Royal Tailor, and now occupied the deliberately isolated, heavily guarded Bódù Hall.

If one were to see this fortress amidst the delicate halls and palaces of the rest of the Palace City, one could mistake Bódù Hall as part of the Lateral Courts.5 Security was laid in concentric circles about this courtyard – the pair at the main gates belied the multitude of guards stationed at each door and around the main building of Bódù Hall.

Having entered the Palace after seeing Lí Chang off, Yan Hong had entered the Palace. Rolling up his sleeves as he showed his entry plaque, and was allowed into the compound.

“Dan- _gongong_!” 6 Yan Hong called.

“Royal Tailor Yan!” An eunuch standing next to the main building’s entrance proffered on a tray a piece of cloth, which Yan Hong tied around his mouth and nose. “The Chancellor and the Grand Lord have arrived. They are within.”

“Father?” Yan Hong’s voice was muffled. “Did he state his purpose?”

“Yes. They wanted to collect more samples.” Dan De shook his head. “That one is… remarkable, really, but...”

“I’m going in. Close the door.” Yan Hong stepped over the high threshold, before he turned back. “If I… die... you know what to do.”

“Y- Your slave understands,” Gan De made a deep salute, as if Yan Hong was setting out to the frontier.

The doors closed. Yan Hong walked into the main building, faced with a pair of iron doors. He walked through a hallway of stone, past heavy doors of stone held up by thick trunks of wood with mallet-wielding guards on each side, and down into some subterranean corner of Great Yang which seemed like the coldest levels of the Earth Prison.

Muffled cries and strangled hisses echoed in his descent, and Yan Hong picked up his footsteps. A pair of scissors was pulled from his sleeve.

These were not the two-bladed type held together with a screw as a pivot; these were instead the spring-scissor type favoured for cutting silk precisely. Two blades faced each other, held in alignment by a strip of metal like tweezers.

A body slammed past the wall next to the last entrance that Yan Hong ran through. It fell down, the limbs curled in, bones crushed, skin dried out – a terrible sight.

The room was composed hollowed out of stone, and lit with a single great crystal that glowed from the ceiling. Chains as thick as a child’s arm holding an iron wardrobe. Two figures were currently fighting with something red and billowing inside the wardrobe.

“Shove it back in!” someone yelled.

Yan Hong ran, grabbing one corner with one hand and then hacking down. “Father!”

“Hong’er- _a_ _h_!” One older man fell back. “Grand Lord, the other door!”

The second figure slammed the wardrobe doors back, the mechanisms on the doors falling back into place to lock it shut. Red cloth poking out from the seams writhed, until Yan Hong sheared them and stuck the scraps together in a bag covered in illegible scribbles. The wardrobe thrashed about, before the scripts and spells hammered and carved into the iron-reinforced wood glowed. The furniture’s thrashing slowly ceased.

Yan Hong tied the bag up, before pulling his mask down for a deep breath. The scissors in his hand shook. “… Grand Lord. Your junior Yan Hong-”

“Little Hong?” the handsome old man with silver in his temples sighed, getting to his feet with heavy slaps on the front of his robes. An eunuch attendant rushed to him but was waved to one side. “Leave the formalities. You just saved our lives from that _thing_.”

“Many thanks to Grand Lord for your eminence,” Yan Hong looked back to the dried husk in the uniform of a palace maid. “Why is a maid here?”

“The Consort Dowager’s Huagai Palace,” the Grand Lord tutted. “Rumour of the ‘heavens’ clothings’ being stored here made it to her. The maid was a mole planted by her, and tried to enter the prison chamber. We caught her as she was opening the wardrobe. Does she think that she’ll become a fairy if she put this thing on?!” He shouted suddenly.

“May the Grand Lord cease your anger,” Yan Kou struggled to his feet, and Yan Hong rushed to help him up. “Hong’er, the scraps?”

“We have some… scraps.” Yan Hong shuddered. “Father… we already have plenty of scraps to tease out the Red Threads. This… this thing is a danger to everyone in the Palace! It was too dangerous today!”

“How could you say that?!” Yan Kou snapped back. “When your grandfather retired from the cultivation world, Wufeng was was one of the pair of treasures he used his life to safeguard! It is because we own the heaven’s clothings without seams that our Yan family is still alive! The shock troops defending our borders have uniforms of which only one part out of ten are the Red Threads, and they’re a terror to every country which is not the Ling Kingdom! If we have more… if we could figure out how Wufeng was made...”

“Your Excellency, Chancellor,” Yan Hong insisted. “Wufeng’s creator was a deity with the power to rebuke the heavens and the earth. We may be descended from part of his disciples, but we are not equal to him. Why else are we shredding parts of Wufeng to mix into the yarn to weave and craft our soldiers’ uniforms?!”

“...Remove the body,” the Grand Lord Xun ordered to his attendant, ignoring Yan Hong. “Put it before the one from Huagai Palace. See if she dares to send another mole here...”

“Yes, Grand Lord.”

“Grand Lord,” Yan Hong pleaded. “Wufeng is too dangerous to leave here! His Highness the Prince of Yongchang is investigating the Grandmaster – he will soon find the hidden records in the Palace Library. If he finds out about this too-!”

The Grand Lord closed his eyes tightly. “...he is my son. In order to protect you, Little Hong, Chang’er will wear on his back the destiny of protecting Great Yang. It is too late for Wufeng to be his wedding suit... I will gamble that, if he finds out about Wufeng, it will become his burial clothes.”

Yan Hong gasped.

As a tailor, Hong Yuexia became the foremost amongst cultivators to reach Apotheosis and become an Immortal. The foundations of his JieJue Sect’s cultivation teachings thus focused on fates, and the binding and cutting of the very threads of fate.

In practice, this led to the JieJue Sect’s legendary skills of crafting enchanted clothings that contained the very Red Threads of Fate. These clothings could confer special powers to the wearer. Legends in the mortal world of beautiful fairies losing their ability to return to the heavens when their clothes were stolen – usually while bathing at a lake – came from this idea that the clothes defined the powers.

The rainbow raiments of the Eight Immortals, the feather garments of fairies, the armour of the Monkey King – enchanted clothings were prevalent when talking about the gods and demons. Enchanted clothings were precisely the trade of the JieJue Sect. What Hong Yuexia did was turn the Red String of Fate to cover his body, and thus advanced a new phase in cultivation studies and a new stage of his power and influence.

After all, not all people made the clothes that they wore. The existence of the ‘heavens’ clothings’ suggested that everybody who wore clothes could now be granted supernatural powers by Hong Yuexia. The implications of making such clothings were staggering, and it was only due to his untimely death that the powers of the cultivation world remained secret at large.

What the wardrobe, the chains, the thick layers of earth, the foundations of Bódù Hall contained within their heavily guarded walls; what this part of the Tianshi Palace imprisoned with their lives – it was a treasure worth several cities. This shapeless scarlet monster, which had drained the blood of an unwitting victim to dye itself in an attempt to escape, was none other than Hong Yuexia’s final surviving masterpiece.

Woven completely from the Red Threads of Fate without dilution from mundane substances, composed without a single cut or seam; here was the lost magical treasure of the JieJue Sect – the Clothes of the Heavens, Wufeng.7

 

* * *

**1 Hu (笏) is a ritual tablet or flat sceptre. The Hu was originally used at court for the taking of notes. Officials could record speaking notes on the tablet ahead of the audience, and record the Emperor's instructions during the audience. Likewise, the Emperor could use it for notes during ceremonies. It eventually evolved into a ritual implement. It is now mostly used by Taoist priests and Shinto priests. From the Jin dynasty onwards, with the proliferation of paper, the Hu became a ceremonial instrument.**

**2 红杏出墙 – Chinese idiom for a wife having an illicit lover.**

**3 桃花凶. This is a reference to ‘peach blossom luck’, which refers to romantic luck.**

**4 太君 _tai jun_ : Here I used it as the male equivalent of 太后 or Empress Dowager. Historically, this was used to refer to the mother of an official in imperial China.**

**5 掖庭 ye ting: refers to the palace offices of servants of the Imperial Palace, also sometimes equated with the Cold Palace where disfavoured concubines were banished to.**

**6 公公 is a title for an eunuch in the Palace.**

**7 天衣, 无缝: This is a pun on the idiom 天衣无缝 ‘heavens’ clothes are seamless’, which is used to refer to something flawless.**


	4. 第一卷 第三回：Knot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Grandmaster of the JieJue Sect, also called Binder and Severer of Fate, whose legend spread through the mundane world as the god of matchmaking, Elder Under the Moon. He is called… Hong. Yue. Xia.”
> 
> Lí Chang turned around immediately. “Royal Brother… you know him?”
> 
> “...” Lí Xi sighed, moving towards a shuttered window. He lifted the bamboo screens, wan sunlight streaming in between his fingers in a pale swath of light.
> 
> “I have something to show you.”

##  第三回：Knot

The eastern frontier of Great Yang was a mass of rivers and creeks amidst towering cliffs of green. The morning mists over the Tongtian River sparkled in the winter morning, that hour between night and day when everything was swathed in darkness.

Floating on the Tongtian, a squadron of warships were floating towards a camp flying the gold banner of Great Yang. Each of the ships bore oars longer than three men were tall. Above each of them flew the standard of the Kingdom of Shu, and under that a Jiang (江).

Within the camp, activity bustled until the constant ring of a gong resounded.

“Enemy! Enemy sighted! Jiang Su of the Shu Kingdom!”

“Why is it so noisy…?”

The scout, who had rushed in shouting, seized up. “G- General Xing! E- Enemy...”

“No reason to panic so early...” The man yawned, shrugging off his heavy fur cloak to slap into the scout’s arms. “Get that to Chaoxia.”

“M- Military Advisor Yan just turned in-”

“Then get it to Chaoxia’s underlings. Chaoxia needs more sleep than any of them.” The red uniform that the general wore made him all the more visible in the half-light. “I’m going up to find Chaoxia.”

“Y- Yes, General!”

“Oh, and?”

The scout stopped mid-step. “General?”

“Screaming for no good reason is prohibited.” The general then left.

The scout did not know whether to laugh or to cry. The General Xing Du has family in the Ministry of Rites, right? Maybe the General learnt it from them? Civil officials must really nag a lot…

On the surface of the Tongtian River, the fleet of ships bobbed along. In the crow’s nest, one soldier eyed something in the horizon, blinked, and then leant over. The motion was pointless, though; over the waves, the war song made their location abundantly clear:

  _  
How shall it be said that you have no clothes?  
I will share my long robes with you.  
The king is raising his forces;  
I will prepare my lance and spear,  
__a_ _nd will be your comrade._  
1  
 

“Enemy sighted! Envoy!”

By a series of waving and shouting, the message got to the flagship, where the famed water general of Shu, Jiang Su, frowned.

“Xing Jiajue is coming here with only one line of ships?” Jiang Su echoed, using the enemy general’s courtesy name.

“Yes, General!”

“En,” Jiang Su scoffed. “Looks like the legendary military advisor wasn’t able to hold him back. Well, Yang will pay for the rashness of his actions, then… all hands, prepare to sink that line!”

“General! It’s...”

“What is it now?” Visions of his glorious return were dancing in his mind, that Jiang Su snapped back.

“General… it’s not the General! The standard, it says ‘Yan’! It’s their Military Advisor!”

“They’re letting a military advisor command a naval operation?!”

The ships of Yang had already left their water camp, beginning to spread out in a loose circle around the fleet of Shu. It seemed hopeless, the towering Shu flagship enough to take on three of the Yang ships by itself.

Jiang Su looked around, examining the line made by his fleet, before he did a double-take. “Where’s the left flank?!”

“Left flank...”

Soldiers aboard the Shu flagship turned around, clucking like lost chicken in a battery cage. What floated up on the waves of the Tongtian was flotsam and jetsam, as far as the eye can see.

Even worse, Jiang Su turned around to see that the right flank was also missing.

“General!”

“What now!” Jiang Su roared.

“The keel! Our keel is busted!!”

Jiang Su paled. The keel of a ship was its absolute backbone, and a god keel determined the integrity of the ship’s hull. For this reason, it was usually also the thickest part of the ship. What had happened…?

Part of the gunwales were torn apart. Another flash of scarlet passed before his eyes, steadily tearing through most of the men on deck. Swords and spears were drawn, stabbing at the scarlet figure, but the blades were somehow deflected as if by heavy iron armour into each other.

The figure in red stopped, landing on both his feet with a sigh. The scarlet and black robes he wore awash in blood, he made for a terrifying sight – some vengeful demon arisen from the Tongtian to make mincemeat of his men.

“M- Monster!!!!” One soldier threw his spear, which hit the soft-looking robe and was immediately deflected into the wooden planks of the deck. “Ghost!”

A sword cut vertically through the soldier. He fell down. Everything on deck became silent as the grave.

“It’s so noisy in the morning…” The monster yawned. “...Are you all in heat?”

Jiang Su looked back. “That military advisor… he was the distraction, while you sank all the ships by yourself?”

“Chaoxia is always distracting, isn’t he?” The bloodstained man grinned, half his face matted with the spray of blood from his previous kill. “So… as payment for looking at him, let me take your head!”

On the other side of the battlefield, another soldier was quaking in his boots before the red and white profile of the Zhuquè Naval Army’s military advisor. Said commander was playing with a loop of red string about his hands, tying it up into various configurations before undoing his own work. Finally, the scout asked: “Military Advisor, General Xing, he… went ahead… do we not need to send reinforcements?”

“Xing Du is idiot enough to jump in without assistance, do we need to be the idiots who follow him?” Yan Jiang, courtesy name of Chaoxia, thinned his lips. “If the ship sinks, fish him up quickly. One fishy-smelling one in the water camp stinks enough.”2

“Er...” the scout stuttered.

“Military Advisor! What about the rest?”

“Capture them alive. Prisoners of war can be ransomed back.”

The sounds of screams punctuated the air as soldiers in red tunics and trousers of hemp bodily tossed up floating soldiers from the waters of the Tongtian, up aboard the decks of the various ships. Beside Yan Jiang, the scout looked on in envy.

“Military Advisor, those uniforms… does Military Advisor’s special uniforms give special powers?!”

A head hit the deck, rolling away from the blood spatter with the force of its landing. The blood spatter was soon washed away by the man who climbed over the gunwales onboard.

“Chaoxia,” he rasped, “why didn’t you come swim with me? We can float like mandarin ducks together.”

“Quit dreaming. You’re getting married once we get back to the capital,” Yan Jiang rolled his eyes, but reached over and started to help the general out of the sodden red and black robe. “Dan Xian, get the general some ginger soup. Hot water to drink if no ginger is available.”

“Yes, Military Advisor!” The scout quickly ran into the cabin.

“As for you, Jiajue…” Yan Jiang tugged at the shell of Xing Du’s ear, causing the general to shout in pain.

“Do you know what will happen if they found out one of the six Beautiful Adornments3 are here?!” the military advisor hissed back. “You wait until I tell Jiaheng that you frivolously showed off the Xing family’s heirloom!”

“Ow, ow, ow!” Xing Du wrested his ear back, rubbing it fiercely. “Alright, Chaoxia, I’ll be good, please don’t tell Sis… but you wore the Yan family’s-”

“I’m a civil official without the strength to truss a chicken,” Yan Jiang glared back. “I actually need the protection of magical clothes. Are you implying something, Xing Jiajue?”

“No… help me fix up Siwei later,” Xing Du grinned back. “Sis will kill me if I brought Siwei home smelling like the Tongtian.”

As the Yang squadron began to turn back to the water camp, one new soldier asked Dan Xian: “The general and the military advisor, they make a lovely couple.”

“Huh? No, General Xing’s fiancée is in the capital...” Dan Xian shrugged. “But I see your point. They could very well marry each other and take care of each other, but they need to continue their family lines. For all his intelligence, the Military Advisor couldn’t just make a baby in a bag...”

* * *

In Lí Chang’s dreams, Yan Hong was singing a song. An ode from the _Classic of Poetry_. Needle pulling thread, fitting out armour, on his knees by the side of his mount Sangyu to tighten the stirrups with a smile.

  __  
How shall it be said that you have no clothes?  
I will share my under clothes with you.  
The king is raising his forces;  
I will prepare my spear and lance,  
And will take the field with you.  
4  
 

A voice broke through his reverie. “Such a good mood to be singing… little brother?”

“Greetings to Your Majesty.” Lí Chang saluted the Emperor, who had changed back to everyday attire of yellow patterned silk. In concession to the winter, it was paired with a stole of grey wolf fur.

Lí Xi frowned at his brother. “Don’t you have enough layers to wear, Chang- _di_?” 5

“Your Majesty, I am trying on Wanxia’s new clothes. In a few more days you’ll receive Wanxia’s proposal of warm underclothes.”

Envy immediately covered Lí Xi’s face. “It’s so hard to find proper winter clothes,” he complained. “Braziers everywhere in winter! Even the Changyuan Hall!”

Changyuan Hall, which was dedicated to the Palace Library, the Royal Archives, and the archivists’ offices, were nested next to Taiwei Hall, and ranked only second to the great audience hall in terms of draftiness.

“Wanxia’s invention may be put to better use making sure that our soldiers did not die of the cold.”

“You’re still the one who considers everything military, Chang- _di_.” Lí Xi agreed. A mane of fur brushed by one leg, which Lí Xi absently petted. “Migua and Chengzi are having puppies. Would you be looking at one?”

“Your brother would be…” Lí Chang hid a snort at the other’s crestfallen expression. “A puffy-lion dog…?6”

“Not everyone can find a sand-skin7 dog and name him Jiangjun,” Lí Xi rebutted.

“Jiangjun has all the valour of a general, so why not the name? Your Majesty, you’re assuming too much.”

Jiangjun the dog died at the battle of Tongtian River saving him from the female Raksha of Ling. It had a funeral with full honours accredited to a soldier. The Emperor himself lit the pyre to cremate Jiangjun.

“Agreed,” Lí Xi decided at last. “Large as the Palace Library is, though, the Book of Dogs is located on the _opposite_ end.”

The towering shelves of the Palace Library were unprecedented in the scale of imperial libraries. The only library in the world which could match Great Yang’s Palace Library was conceivably the Kingdom of Ling’s Palace Library – there was, after all, a reason for the idiom ‘to push up paper prices in Luoyang’ referring to the sensational popularity of a new book.

“I’m not looking for the Book of Dogs!” Lí Chang protested as Lí Xi took an interest in the stack of books which he had extracted from their shelves.

“What is my little brother looking for… _Classic of Mountains and Seas_ , _Four Journeys_ … _What the Master Would Not Discuss…_ _Questions to Heaven_?”

The control of written materials within Great Yang was not very severe – they had yet to execute or imprison authors for writing offensive material, and were even more unlikely to burn books and bury scholars. As long as there was no unrest incited or libel cases, the only compulsory process for publishers was the law of legal deposit; all woodblock printers who made books had to submit two printed copies to the Department of Secret Books, for storage within the Imperial Library. Literally everything commercially printed from the dawn of Great Yang existed – fire, flood or time notwithstanding.

“Fair point,” Lí Xi conceded. “What are you looking for? Minister Xing told me that you asked her for the register of religious practitioners.”

“Er...” Lí Chang shrugged. “The Moon Elder. It’s a legend amongst the commoners – the god of matchmaking who ties all the world’s couples together with the Red String of Fate.”

“The book you’re looking for is _Records of Bewildering Tales of the Underworld_. 8”

Lí Chang raised his eyebrows, but quickly schooled his expression. “Your Majesty...”

“I’m your older brother,” Lí Xi smirked, pacing about with the giant Migua at the back of his feet. “The story is ‘The Shop of Settled Marriages’. The protagonist Wei Gu, failing to find a marriage partner many times over, was passing the city of Songcheng, where he saw an old man leaning on his pack reading a book in the moonlight. Being amazed, Wei Gu walked up and asked what he was doing. The old man answered: “I am reading the Book of Lovers, listing who is going to marry whom. In my pack are red cords for tying the feet of husband and wife”.”

Lí Chang hummed. “Songcheng… that’s in Qinghe, right?”

“Yes,” Lí Xi sighed. “When Wei Gu and the old man came together to a marketplace, they saw a blind old woman carrying a three-year-old little girl in her arms. The old man said to Wei Gu: "This little girl will be your wife in the future".”

“...” Lí Chang rolled his eyes. “If Rites Minister Xing was here, she would scold us. What kind of age gap is that between legal and proper spouses?”9

“Isn’t that right?” Lí Xi nodded. “Wei Gu thought this was too strange, and he ordered his servant to stab the girl with his knife. Fourteen years later, the governor of Xiangzhou gave Wei Gu his daughter in marriage. Wei Gu realised then, that his wife was that little girl whom he had tried to kill.”

“Terrible fate,” Lí Chang remarked.

“He got his comeuppance,” Lí Xi remarked. “Wei Gu sought the old man for suitable matches for his children later. The old man refused to find suitors for his children. Wei Gu sought to find a possible match for his children, but by coincidence, no marriage was put to order. The moral of the story is, if you try and test the god of marriage, fate will make playthings of men.”

“...Imperial Brother.” Lí Chang finally said. “I have the feeling that you said that entire tale as if it happened in front of you.”

Lí Xi sighed, shaking his head. It would almost look like a tea-house’s story-teller, except that nobody under the heavens had the honour of being personally entertained by the Emperor of Great Yang in such a manner. “Chang- _di._ Are you… I don’t see a problem with Hong- _di._ Don’t tell me...”

“The bond between Wanxia and myself is very good! I’m not particularly looking for the god of matchmaking!”

Lí Xi breathed a sigh of relief. “Everyone says to respect the ghosts and gods at a distance.”

“I know. It’s...” Lí Chang frowned. “The one who gave me… foreknowledge. The… Immortal being, I think. He called himself the origin of the Moon Elder legend.”

“Is he?”

“I don’t know, but he certainly has some methods.” Lí Chang gave a sigh. “The Moon Elder gave me another chance, and for that I am grateful. I will always remember his name...”

“Grandmaster of the JieJue Sect, also called Binder and Severer of Fate, whose legend spread through the mundane world as the god of matchmaking, Elder Under the Moon. He is called… Hong. Yue. Xia.”

Lí Chang turned around immediately. “Royal Brother… you know him?”

“...” Lí Xi sighed, moving towards a shuttered window. He lifted the bamboo screens, wan sunlight streaming in between his fingers in a pale swath of light.

“I have something to show you.”

* * *

The Imperial Palace city was divided into three enclosed sections, all three sections connected by long bridges sheltered from the wind and rain, but the opulence of this palace was visible from every bridge. The three sections were each named after the Three Enclosures in astronomy:

The outer Taiwei Enclosure was were official matters were conducted. It contained Taiwei Hall, as well as the administrative and bureaucratic facilities of the Three Departments and Six Ministries. Changyuan Hall was also nested here.

The centre Tianshi Enclosure had Tianshi Palace, where the Lateral Courts and the offices of the Departments of Service and the Palace were established10. Bódù Hall was only an isolated section of this portion.

The Ziwei Enclosure was the Inner Palace. The Emperor’s personal residence of Beiji Palace existed here, alongside the Consort Dowager’s Huagai Palace and the Grand Lord’s Xuange Hall. Walls of red brick and semi-spherical moon gates separated the Ziwei Enclosure into several smaller courtyards dotted around the Tianzhu Garden.

Within one of these courtyards was Lady Fei, titled as the Virtuous Consort.11 An embroidery frame was perched on her lap, around which scores of threads had been strung into a golden pheasant in flight along the branches of a pine tree. Unconsciously, she began to sing:

   
_How shall it be said that you have no clothes?  
I will share my lower garments with you.  
The king is raising his forces;  
I will prepare my __armour_ _and sharp weapons,_  
And will march along with you.  
12  
 

As she embroidered, she barely looked up at the visitor who had dropped into her private rooms unannounced and unnoticed.

Yan Hong made a salute. “This subject pays his respects to Your Ladyship the Virtuous Consort.”

“Does Royal Tailor Yan require something from this palace?13” Virtuous Consort Fei said at last.

“This subject wishes to bring the Virtuous Consort’s attention to a threat within the Imperial Palace.”

“Those sisters of mine, Noble Consort Xü and Pure Consort Ke, take precedence.”

“This threat concerns the shared history of the Six Harmonious Families.”

The frame fell from her lap. The Virtuous Consort’s hand shook, the embroidery needle stuck in her finger. She pulled it out, watching her finger bleed.

“The Clothes of the Heavens, Wufeng, is being held for examination within Bódù Hall of the Tianshi Palace,” Yan Hong reported. “Very soon, His Majesty or someone of the royal family will be selected to try them on.”

“Wufeng… that thing is still around?!”

Lady Fei’s eyes were wide. “What do you need from me, that you could not get from the Chancellor Yan?!” She was so panicked, that she had forgotten her own pronouns to use the common ‘I’.

“Of the six Beautiful Adornments granted by the JieJue Grandmaster to our Six Harmonious Families, only three escaped with us,” Yan Hong told her. “My family’s Fengren14, the Xing family’s Siwei15, and the Fei clan’s Chanjuan16. Though none of them can truly stand against Wufeng, we are only dealing with it long enough to disable or destroy its will. My father disagrees...”

“...this is indeed a threat to His Majesty.” Lady Fei arose. “Thank you for telling me. Wait outside. We are changing.”

* * *

**1 From the _Shijing_ , 無衣‘No Clothes’ first stanza, translation by James Legge. Original text:**

** 岂曰无衣？ **

** 与子同袍。 **

**王于兴师 ,**

** 修我戈矛。 **

** 与子同仇。 **

**2  Xing Du shares with his sister Xing Lin the unusual surname of 腥, which in this case refers to ‘blood red’, but as a stand-alone character also means ‘fishy/stinky’.**

**3  绮罗饰 – 绮罗 means ‘beautiful silk’, and 饰 refers to personal decorations, ornaments or adornments.**

**4 ‘ No Clothes’ second stanza. Original text:**

** 岂曰无衣？ **

** 与子同泽。 **

** 王于兴师， **

** 修我矛戟， **

** 与子偕作。  **

**5  昌弟 – 弟‘younger brother’ is a term of endearment used by an elder brother to address a younger brother.**

**6 This is referring to a Chow Chow.**

**7 This is referring to a Shar Pei.**

**8  幽怪录**

**9 Ancient Chinese weddings have the ‘three letters and six etiquettes’. Amongst noble families, a ‘true wife’ is married with all the ceremonies in a big wedding, as opposed to a concubine who enters the household with much less ceremony.**

**10 This is two different departments: Department of the Palace is  殿中省, divided into six offices. 内侍省 is the Department of Service, which is responsible for staffing eunuchs.**

**11  德妃. This is using Tang-Song ranks for the Inner Palace. Behind the Empress, there are four first-rank Consorts 贵妃、淑妃、德妃、贤妃 in order of descending rank.**

**12 ‘ No Clothes’ third stanza. Original text:**

** 岂曰无衣？ **

** 与子同裳。  **

** 王于兴师， **

** 修我甲兵， **

** 与子偕行。  **

**13  本宫: archaic first-person Chinese pronoun used by the Inner Palace, the Crown Prince etc.**

**14  缝纫 – meaning ‘to sew’.**

**15 四维 – refers to the four directions/four limbs (TCM)/four dimensions/four social bonds (propriety, justice, integrity and honor)**

**16  婵娟 – refers to a beautiful woman/the moon/graceful posture**


	5. 第一卷 第四回: Seam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The Royal Tailor is in charge of its maintenance. He is married to you.” Lí Xi looked at his brother in pity. “It is almost living, it drinks blood and repairs itself, infinitely resilient and very crafty. The previous Royal Tailor died to its machinations. If, one day, Hong-di does not come back… you know the cause.”

##  第四回: Seam

At the main gate of Tianshi Palace, Lí Xi waylaid a passing eunuch. “Have you seen the Royal Tailor about?”

“Replying to Your Majesty, Your Highness the Prince Yongchang, this little one heard the Royal Tailor was summoned by the Virtuous Consort.”

“Ah, yes, they’re maternal cousins,” Lí Xi shook his head. “It is hard on the Virtuous Consort, being alone in Gouchen Palace.”

Lí Chang snorted at the side.

“Yes?” The gentle smile on Lí Xi’s face belied the mischievous twinkle in his bright eyes. “Does my little brother want some beautiful flowers for his courtyard?”

“Your subject and brother would rather have some peace,” Lí Chang rebutted. “Besides, if I took a concubine, would Your Majesty not suspect some ulterior motives on my part? The late emperor matched me with a male Prince Consort for a reason.”

Male consorts were nothing new in the history of Great Yang – the current Grand Lord was an example of one. However, no Emperor had yet to ascend to the throne with a male spouse, and tradition was hard to overcome. The late Changgeng Emperor had arisen to the throne with a female Princess Consort. The Princess Consort Zhao, now the Solemn Empress Zhao, had the good fortune to become the Empress, and the good sense to die after giving birth to two imperial sons, thus martyring herself in the Changgeng Emperor’s heart to the cause of her sons’ bid for the throne.

“That could not be said,” Lí Xi disagreed as they strolled towards their destination, meandering amidst a palace which only needed the sight of wandering clouds to seem like a fairyland. “Our late Imperial Father married the Grand Lord next, after all. Imagine if Consort Bai had taken the Phoenix Seal.”

Lí Xi was reflecting on ancient history as well. Back then, the then-Noble Consort Bai should have become the next Empress. Instead, the position of the Emperor’s official spouse was succeeded by the eminent Xun Shi out of nowhere, in a twist of events which seemed to come out of absurd fantasies:

Xun Shi had begun his career on the recommendation of the Chancellor Yan Kou. Following his victory in a great war, the General Xun was begging a retirement. It was entirely deserved; Great Yang had won the war, and clearly Xun Shi had no more political or strategic value. Any more awards, and the Emperor’s suspicions of Xun Shi having seditious ideas might have been aroused.

Nobody had figured out what happened, how, or why it happened then – the late Changgeng Emperor took a sudden and overwhelming fancy to the retiring general, and made him Imperial Lord, head of the Inner Palace and holding the Phoenix Seal. To further mark exactly how loved the Imperial Lord was, even his style of address was similar to the Emperor’s own: ‘Your Majesty’1.

The Imperial Lord had then adopted the two sons of the late Empress – Lí Xi and Lí Chang – as his own children, and treated them as if they were his own children. Even when Lí Chang was forcing the Changgeng Emperor to abdicate, the Imperial Lord had controlled of the Palace guard corps and allowed the event to happen.

Considering the what could have been, occupied Lí Chang all the way to Bódù Hall, and then out of the four different buildings which made up the hall, Lí Xi led Lí Chang into the main building and through a pair of iron doors.

Lí Chang frowned. Why are there iron doors in the tailoring department? Not even the Emperor’s personal closet was worth this much security.

They walked through a stone hallway. Periodically, the brothers passed under heavy falling doors of stone held up by thick trunks of wood with mallet-wielding guards on each side.

Down and down they went…

“Imperial Brother,” Lí Chang shuddered. “This… what kind of prisoner are you keeping next to Wanxia? This is his working place, right?”

“It is absolutely necessary. The Prince Consort of Yongchang does important work.”

What kind of tailor does work so important that it needs a prison?

* * *

Crouched on the rooftop of a nearby building, Yan Hong shook his head. “His Highness… knows the secret now. Wufeng...”

“The late Emperor did not destroy it, or cannibalise it?” Lady Fei demanded. She was wearing a pink short coat over a long red skirt and white inner robe, everything decorated with some form of embroidered flower. “We only told the royal family about Wufeng! Not about-”

“The late Emperor wanted to reconstruct Wufeng. We kept it here for studying, and cut off pieces when needed.” Yan Hong rubbed his temples. “The Beautiful Adornments are too recognisable to the JieJue Sect. The Grand Lord managed to wear Wufeng out to one battle. It was a battle he won against an entire army, but the effort nearly killed him. The previous Royal Tailor… was also sacrificed to Wufeng.”

No guard below noticed them. In fact, no guard ever noticed the beautiful Lady Fei when she was wearing the secret ‘weapon’ of the Fei clan, Chanjuan. Therefore, they did not notice Lady Fei’s unhappy moan. “Brother Bi was sacrificed to it too? Why didn’t I know?”

“At that time, my lady was already in the household of the Crown Prince,” Yan Hong replied. “The late Emperor had already learnt of the secret of Wufeng – that anyone who wore it would gain matchless superhuman power. His Late Majesty loved the Grand Lord for His Majesty’s willpower to wear it, but so much intrigue was going on. His Majesty… the late Emperor, he wanted to wear it as his dragon robe.”

Lady Fei gasped. “His Late Majesty desired to wear Wufeng? That thing which eats people? The Chancellor offered it up, didn’t he also tell the Emperor that whoever puts it on becomes enslaved to the strings of fate? Did His Late Majesty succeed?”

“...no,” Yan Hong slowly replied. “He wanted to. He wanted so desperately to wear it, that Eldest Brother slaved over re-tailoring it day and night, and was fed to it when his efforts at tacking it failed.”

“How will we get in and destroy it?”

“Your subject suggests using Chanjuan to sneak in, but… I am afraid that security would have increased.” Yan Hong grimaced. “I cannot enter the Palace all the time without incurring suspicion...”

“Leave it to me,” Lady Fei waved it off. “I will keep tabs on this creature, and destroy it.”

* * *

At the end of the journey was a room, guarded by two more hulking men. Hewn from the bedrock underneath, it was lit with a single great crystal that glowed from the ceiling. Chains as thick as a child’s arm held down an iron wardrobe bolted to the floor, its iron door riddled with dials that held it closed unless they were pushed in the proper position.

Not even the dragon robe is worth several cities to merit this kind of security, Lí Chang said in his heart.

“Not even the dragon robe merits this kind of security,” Lí Xi said aloud. “Men! Where are the other guards?”

“There’s more?!”

A third guard walked up and saluted. “Your Majesty, Your Highness. Forgive this general, this morning a palace maid from Huagai Palace sneaked in and opened the doors. The final layer of security woke… it… up. We sealed the doors right as the Chancellor and Grand Lord arrived, and they went in, but… were it not for the Royal Tailor’s timely actions, it would have killed its way out.”

“That woman...” Lí Xi sighed. “I see. I’m opening the wardrobe. Begin preparations.”

“Yes!”

Both guards came in. They unslung something from their backs and began to string what Lí Chang recognised as wood-laminated longbows. Arrows were nocked as Lí Xi began to rotate the dials.

The guard returned once Lí Xi had stepped back. In his hands were a pair of long tongs. “Preparations are done, Your Majesty.”

“Open the door.”

A ponderous groan echoed as the doors yawned open. The chill and hiss from within made Lí Chang frown, and the cold air which hit his face made his shudder of the cold. The light streaming from the crystal illuminated everything clearly, until he could see, within the wardrobe...

“It’s… clothes.”

The tongs went in first, holding down the red and gold-embroidered swaths of premium brocade. Another guard came near, a bowl in his shaking hands. Slowly, the second guard lifted the bowl, and tossed it into the wardrobe, its scarlet contents spilling over it right as the guard fell back.

The cloth flared to life immediately. A sharp-pointed head and wings seemed to flare out, and the collar of the robe billowed. Lines on the lapels both right and left, shaped like frogging to bind the outer robe closed when being worn, seemed at that moment to cover glittering eyes loaded with malice, and even the guard holding the tongs was yelling for a long stick.

Lí Chang had fallen on the seat of his pants with a shout. “T- The clothes moved! What… what is that?”

“I also had the same reaction after my coronation ceremony,” Lí Xi reached down to help his brother up. The Emperor’s clammy hands drew Lí Chang’s attention – his brother, who in a past life had not flinched even when being threatened by their Imperial Father, was afraid of it.

Lí Chang understood. “Is it… haunted?”

“...I don’t know,” Lí Xi sighed in reply. “According to the Grand Lord, Chancellor Yan, the old General Xing, and the Titled Madame2 Fei were escaping some threat with their families. They came to Great Yang, and offered this set of clothes to our grandfather, the Chenxing Emperor. They called this the Clothes of the Heavens – Wufeng, for ‘heaven’s clothes are seamless’.”

The roaring dragon of red damask fluttered, almost slipping out until it reached the boundaries of the wardrobe, and parts of it were sliced to ribbons in thin air. A rustling scream came from it, and Lí Chang back-pedalled.

One guard came too close, and screamed as the cloth closed around his arm. Without hesitation, his partner took his own sword and slashed down. The first guard escaped sans left arm but with a look of relief.

“Wufeng demands blood, but in exchange its wearer invulnerable, and confers superhuman powers,” Lí Xi continued. “Cutting off a small scrap and using that scrap also gives power, but much less than the original. This was the clothes, which they claim was made by the Grandmaster of the JieJue Sect, Hong Yuexia. His last masterpiece.”

“Hong Yuexia...” Staring at the menacing piece of clothing, Lí Chang could only break out in a cold sweat. Who knew for what reason Hong Yuexia created it, but its power was certain. By putting it on…

The severed arm dropped from the damask monster, dried to a twig-like shape. Lí Chang immediately recoiled.

“Once you put it on, you will become a slave to the fates woven within clothing.” Lí Xi continued. “I did not know then, but now that I think about it… ‘to take the yellow gown’3, ‘to rip one’s robe and repudiate brotherhood’4, so many clothing-related sayings. For example… ‘the beast in human clothes’5. The Grand Lord, in the last war against the Chidi tribes, wore this to fight against ten thousand soldiers. The effort nearly killed him, but... one against ten thousand. I do not know if our Imperial Father truly loved Xun Shi, but he was in love with the idea of wearing it so much that he would take a man as his consort. It seemed like the closest that he would ever come to it.”

“...why are you showing me this?”

“The Royal Tailor is in charge of its maintenance. He is married to you.” Lí Xi looked at his brother in pity. “It is almost living, it drinks blood and repairs itself, infinitely resilient and very crafty. The previous Royal Tailor died to its machinations. If, one day, Hong- _di_ does not come back… you know the cause.”

* * *

**1 Style of office refers to ‘Your Majesty’, ‘Your Highness’ etc. In Chinese, the Empress and other consorts are styled as  娘娘, which is often translated as ‘your highness’ or some equivalent thereof, while princes, outside kings, maybe even the Empress, are styled 殿下‘your highness’. The Emperor is therefore styled as 皇上, 陛下 etc. which all work out to mean ‘Your Majesty’, except with maybe some more divinity thrown in. The Emperor here is addressed as 皇上 ‘the august one above’, and the Imperial Lord/Grand Lord is addressed as 陛下‘beneath the Palace steps’.**

**2  诰命夫人**

**3  黄袍加身 – refers to being made emperor.**

**4  割袍断义 – to break all friendly ties**

**5  衣冠禽兽 – refers to a despicable person.**


	6. 第一卷 第五回：Stitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “...when did the maid appear?”

##  第五回：Stitch

_If there is a day that Hong-di does not come back… you know the cause._

As a general who had seen war, Lí Chang had some idea of the power needed to sweep aside an army of ten thousand. War as an extension of national policy needed sacrifices.

This, though…

He had no idea how to ask Yan Hong. It was not like he could ask “Was your older brother eaten by a living robe?” His meandering about how to broach the topic lasted through his return to the Yongchang manor, dinner, his bath, and turning in for the night – and he still had not asked.

“Sire.”

The voice came from the one next to him. It was Yan Hong, of course – a lifetime ago Yan Hong had remained at his side when his Imperial Father had sought to execute him out of suspicion, and in this lifetime all the other concubines had been turned out. The only exception was the serving girls who had followed as Yan Hong’s dowry; he could not exactly refuse the other side.

“Wanxia?”

“I…” the sentence trailed off. “Today, His Majesty… brought you to Bódù Hall?”

“...you always know what to say.”

“It is… our curse. Your Highness-”

“What Highness? Wanxia, just state it directly. That… that cloth monster was offered to the Court by three of the Great Yang’s biggest families?”

“We did not start out as noble families.” Yan Hong took a deep breath. “Sire… Chang. How much do you know about cultivators?”

“People who fly around in the clouds and heavens. Or, noble families who just manage to look down on the common people from a higher place.” Lí Chang racked his brains. “The biggest one to Yemu is across the Tongtian River, not in Great Yang territory. Their symbol is a nine-petal lotus? I don’t know why, but their clan leader has an infamous temper amongst the ladies. You should see the spy reports. They had some… interesting waves about some great monster a few years back.”

“The Jiang clan of Yunmeng,” Yan Hong agreed. “The JieJue Sect – the school founded by Hong Yuan, Hong Yuexia – has a different organisation, but they are cultivators.”

“No wonder...” Lí Chang contemplated. “If the Grandmaster had such power...”

“Centuries ago, six people pledged themselves and their entire bloodlines in service to the Grandmaster. Following in the master’s footsteps, they discarded their original surnames. The Grandmaster conferred upon them surnames derived from ‘red’, uniting them to his banner.” Yan Hong continued: “The Yan family’s surname is typically read as Yin (殷) but in this case, it is derived from ‘dark red’.”

“Xing; for ‘blood red’. Fei; ‘scarlet’.” Lí Chang slowly nodded. “Then, Virtuous Consort Fei...”

“It is her mother the Titled Madame Fei who knows much more, Little Yan knows nothing.” Yan Hong shuddered, and then said: “For all his power, the Grandmaster could not escape his own death, but he certainly made the cultivators who killed him pay for it. After he died, though, the JieJue Sect languished in the shadows of history and hid in the far corners of the earth. We survived thanks to our skill in weaving spells into clothes.”

A sigh here. “It was Grandfather’s time when a schism finally formed. Three families defected to the mundane world, carrying with them the Sect’s treasure with them. The acting leader would have slaughtered us for it, not to mention the other half of the Sect. So… they came to Great Yang.”

Lí Chang could already guess the rest of the story. “The three families gave up Wufeng to buy the Court’s protection from the other half of the Sect,” he accused. “Which means… there are other parties who know about that monster too.”

“Monster… Wufeng seems like it, doesn’t he?”

Yan Hong hugged Lí Chang. It caught the prince off by surprise, because it was so out of the ordinary.

“The day we first met,” Yan Hong whispered, “was the first day that I succeeded my brother as Royal Tailor. You asked me: ‘Why are you standing out in the rain’?”

“For the rain to dye everything white,” Lí Chang sighed out the answer which he had received then.

Their first meeting had been ambiguous, but fate and one imperial decree then married them together. Later events and one paranoid father, complete with accusations of rebellion, and they had to flee and fight, until they were surrounded on all sides-

“Yan Bi, courtesy name Caixia,” Yan Hong closed his eyes. “He was not born as the eldest proper son, but it made no difference to my mother. She liked him the best. His death broke her heart, and she followed him to the underworld. Their enjoined fates only lasted for so long...”

Lí Chang patted his consort’s shoulder, unable to form words. The grief of a lost sibling was difficult to express, after all – someone so loved and hated at the same time, who was suddenly gone… that feeling could not be articulated. “His Majesty told me… Yan Caixia wanted to re-tailor that thing for the late Emperor.”

“He was the one who took His Late Majesty’s wish so seriously...” Yan Hong nodded. “He _tried_. And then, at the test fitting, he shed his own blood while wearing it on, to see if it would activate for him at least. For a mortal to wear the Clothes of the Heavens, though, was the kind of heresy punished by dismemberment, right there and then.”

Lí Chang’s face was seized then, and warm breath caressed his cheeks.

“Your Highness,” Yan Hong pleaded. “Wanxia has never asked anything of you, but please, _do not ever wear it_.”

“W- What?”

“The Grand Lord managed to wear it, once, and the effort cripples him to this day and retired him from the battlefield,” Yan Hong elaborated fiercely. “The Grand Lord, the Consort Dowager… perhaps even His Majesty, perhaps they believe that you can wear it. Otherwise why would they tell you this secret? Once you wear it, even if you survive Wufeng, the JieJue Sect will find you and strip it from your corpse.”

“This… I don’t have a reason to wear it?” Lí Chang blinked in confusion.

“Even if the kingdom is facing danger on all sides?” Yan Hong asked. “Even if you were desperate? Even… if you had to protect His Majesty?”

“Imperial Brother has the Imperial Guards. If I needed to come out for every tiny thing, then what use are his guards?” Lí Chang leant down to mouth at the plump lips in the dark. “But… if you’re pleading me, shouldn’t you show some sincerity as well?”

Yan Hong’s temple began to throb. “I am completely serious!”

A hip roll gave Lí Chang the leverage to pull the other man across his body. “So am I. Instead of thinking about dressing me up in that blood-soaked monstrosity, think about stripping me.”

“Sire!”

* * *

The curtain of night had fallen, the vaults of the heavens surrounded the skies over Beiji Palace in twinkling stars. Here, in this place, at this night, the Palace was currently entertaining four of the most arguably powerful people in Great Yang.

Chancellor Yan Kou sat in the east, frowning around. “Your Majesty has informed the Prince of Yongchang?”

“He deserves to know about Wufeng,” Lí Xi shrugged, taking a sip of tea from a gold-rimmed cup. “Yan Caixia’s death was covered up as an accident, which I always regretted. Even though he could not be named as _Shizi 1_, there were people who mourned him and could not do so openly. I do not think Madame Fei even told the Virtuous Consort at all.”

Facing this son-in-law, the Titled Madame Fei É rubbed her temples, a delicate motion that still had charm despite her age, being in her thirties or forties. The Fei clan was renowned for their seemingly ageless looks – the former Titled Madame Fei had even had a legendary dalliance with a young poetess three generations her junior, and no one remarked upon it.

“I did not,” was her simple reply. “Yan Caixia was the colour of the lives he touched. The knowledge would have destroyed my daughter.”

“That is true,” Lí Xi deferred to her. “Old General Xing, you have yet to say anything.”

The grizzly-haired man grimaced around the table. “The Imperial Censor Zhu.”

“A promising young man,” Madame Fei gossiped. “I was thinking about matching a daughter to him. So young, and so brave...”

“He is like us,” the elder general replied. “The Zhu clan, for ‘vermilion’.”

Madame Fei stopped smiling. “H- He-”

Lí Xi blinked slowly. “Your JieJue Sect has rendered much meritorious service to Great Yang. Why should we not expand our recruitment?”

“There are things you do not know, Your Majesty,” the Chancellor finally intervened. “Out of the Six Harmonious Families, the other three clans were rescued from extinction by the Grandmaster and his enormous power for regular weather over their lands. They are fanatically loyal to the memory of the Grandmaster.”

“Other emperors face terrible weather, civil unrest, and blustering bureaucrats, while I receive news of an Immortal’s legacy wrecking my kingdom.” Lí Xi rubbed at his brows with one finger, and then stopped. “...the JieJue Grandmaster can control the _weather_?”

A maid came in with a pot of tea, and began to refill the cups quietly.

“The mundane world worships him as a god,” the old general reproached, taking a sip of the hot tea. “We continue to revere him and his creations. We still call his treasure the Clothes of the Heavens, we call his materials the Red Strings of Fate. Your Majesty, the stories told by our clan of the Grandmaster, and the proof in Wufeng… none of them are false.”

“Here was where his existence threatens the government,” Yan Kou shook his head, taking his own cup. “Who would listen to an emperor if the people had to compare his word to that of a god, an Immortal? The mundane world could not accept such an existence.”

“But he is dead, his legacy still cursing the world,” Madame Fei’s rebuttal cut in as she took her own cup and drank. “If Imperial Censor Zhu is indeed part of that Zhu clan, Hongniang will follow in search of Wufeng.”

“Wufeng is on our side, and you’re all still afraid of this JieJue Sect?” Lí Xi echoed in incredulity. “They’re still human, right?”

“Hongniang… is a _monster_.” The old General Xing spat the word out. “The JieJue Sect survived for centuries after the Grandmaster’s death, and Hongniang has been alive for exactly that amount of time. What else do you call this type of undying creature who only appears in massacres and assassinations? You don’t even realise her presence until… she… already… left...”

“General Xing?” Madame Fei frowned at the elder general faltering.

“...when did the maid appear?”

“Maid? The palace maid… was...” The porcelain cup dropped from Madame Fei’s painted talons. “Was… unannounced...”

“The maid…” Chancellor Yan stared at the cup in his hands, still warm. “Where is the maid?”

A cold wind blew. It circled about, some predatory cackle in the depths of the night. Within the Beiji Palace Observatory, a man in the black robes of a Taoist priest continued to stare up into the heavens, periodically making notes in a gathering of paper with a small stick.

A palace guard ran up behind the priest. “State Teacher!”

“His Majesty needs protection. Bring my wooden sword.”

It took a while for the guard to parse out the instructions, but by then the State Teacher of Great Yang had already left on his own in a swish of black. “The State Teacher...is so intelligent...”

“Why tonight of all nights...” the head of the Department of Secret Books and chief method-master of the Court muttered. “You’d better not let me catch you, Hongniang.”

* * *

**1  世子 – refers to the heir apparent of a title or of the family leadership.**


	7. 第二卷 第六回：Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “As the clan bestowed with the name of our deity, it is our right and duty to recover the raiment of the lost deity.” The prince bowed his head, touching the ground with both hands in submission and humility. “This mission indeed demands nothing less, than the future Khan of the Ulaan people wearing the armour of the Red Hero.”

#  第二卷: Weft

## 第六回：Search

Far to the north of Yemu, upstream of the Tongtian River and towards the ‘roof of the world’ mountain steppes, a wind stirred. Thunder rolled across the plains as, in the distance, an entire horde of lightly armoured horseback riders and their herds made a mad dash for the east.

With their backs to the sun, it was a while before a rider at their head, amidst jumping from his horse to another rider-less horse, made a shout. His words passed along this great organism, which then slowed itself before the ponderous army stopped at a great plain, surrounded by walls. The gates swung open, and the front riders rode in.

Yurts were present close to the walls. As the riders went deeper into the walled area, the yurts gave way to wooden cabins, and then to a walled palace built in the style of the Central Plains peoples.

The lead rider raised his hands and spoke. From the watchtowers in the four corners, a soldier answered. The palace gates opened for him, to a courtyard dominated by an open stage, surrounded by trees save for the steps at its front and back.

Upon the stage, a crone looked down. Draped as she was in long loops of multi-coloured eye-shaped beads, she seemed a lifeless idol compared to the vitality of this rider.

“Shaman,” the rider spoke first.

The old woman slurred: “Prince.”

“As agreed by time and tradition, I have come to ask for rain.”

“Agreed.”

The old woman stood. She shuffled some more, her feet moving in shuffling steps with the surety of old age. The formality of ritual cast its spell, and the crone was now the dignified sacred dancer, her body turned towards the heavens in a series of slow footsteps. The clouds overhead gathered, thunder rumbled as the wind grew stronger.

The rider, the prince, sighed in relief as rain began to patter on his face. Behind him, his coterie of fellow riders gave sighs of relief, lifting their hands up to the heavens to bow low towards the dancer on the stage.

The movements stopped after an eternity. As if in harmony to the dance, the rain itself slowed to a patter.

“The rain will follow the clan herds for twenty days,” was the crone’s instructions as she straightened the wet woollen overcoat under her jewellery. “I suggest you leave before tonight.”

“Very good.”

The prince made no motion to leave. The crone did not move. The rain slowed to a stop.

“Wise Prince of the Left, Fulahun.” The shaman broke their silence.

“The Khan has an order for me, as I thought…” the prince smiled, but it faltered as the crone began to shuffle down the steps. Whispers of panic arose, and the prince’s followers, guards and servants all, descended to the ground.

The crone stopped beside the prince. She turned around, her bones almost giving an audible creak.

From the steps behind, two serving girls carried up a wooden frame made as a T-shape, ostensibly to display clothes and armour. The frame was already outfitted, though, and the ensemble displayed upon it made the prince fall to his knees.

The shaman, and the two serving girls who had carried the frame up, fell in kowtow before the ensemble. The girls then retreated away, but the shaman groaned as she got back to her feet.

“We of the Ulaan have the ability to call forth rain whenever,” she slowly announced. “How we could overcome our previously dire straits, and then conquer more land and gain wealth – it all comes from the herds which grow fat on pasture nourished by this magic. How the _Ulaan Bataar_ comes to be, stems from the armour granted by the one under the moon as a symbol of our ancestors’ worship.”

“I know of the _Ulaan Bataar_ , and the great power that comes from wearing the armour of our heroic ancestor who has good foresight and good instincts,” said the prince, still kneeling. “Does the Khan intend to go into battle?”

“Prince Fulahun, it is you who will don this Beautiful Adornment of the Ulaan people, to fight as _Ulaan Bataar_.”

“The Hero in Red – me?” Prince Fulahun echoed. “Against whom? What enemy of the Ulaan people would require the strength to lift a mountain and sweep aside an army?”

“Twenty years ago, your father the Khan lost the Yang Pass to the Yang Empire in a senseless defeat,” the shaman’s contralto gave her an air of power. “We know the reason now.”

“Ten thousand warriors beaten by a single man, yes,” Prince Fulahun snapped. “But it is not possible for humans! Not even the Ulaan Bataar can do it wearing the armour!”

“Not without divine favour, no, my prince.” The shaman’s lips thinned as she looked up to the ensemble on the clothes-stand. “The Red Maiden has confirmed it. The Yang Empire now has possession of the Clothes of Tengri.”

“The Clothes of Tengri… the robe of the deity himself.” Prince Fulahun realised, reaching up to touch the red braided cord securing his plaited hair close to his head. “Of course. How else could they have won unless by divine favour?”

“Your Highness, the Khan has instructed that you will form part of the diplomatic mission sent to the Yang Empire,” the shaman now croaked. “In the Yang capital, you will find our contacts, and they will furnish you with the necessary details. The Clothes of Tengri, once thought to be lost, was in fact stolen by three traitorous families to barter with the Yang people for position and wealth. Now the Clothes are trapped, hidden under heavy guard in their royal palace with three Beautiful Adornments.”

“As the clan bestowed with the name of our deity, it is our right and duty to recover the raiment of the lost deity.” The prince bowed his head, touching the ground with both hands in submission and humility. “This mission indeed demands nothing less, than the future Khan of the Ulaan people wearing the armour of the Red Hero.”

Upon the clothes-stand, an overcoat of ochre leather sewn with a lining of red silk fluttered from its wooden arms, draped over another set of woollen clothes inter-woven with red yarn in a scattered pattern. A quiver of red-stitched leather hung from a belt, and more red thread was stitched into where the leather armour joined up with its fittings. Hung from its stand was a composite bow of horn and wood, its bowstring of woven cord dyed red, as red as the day it had been bestowed centuries ago...

* * *

 

The Court session on the next morning had several officials exchanging secret looks – from the Chancellor hiding a yawn, to the Emperor’s eyes blackened from a lack of sleep.

“Minister Bian, you will lead the outside search for the trespasser who crossed Beiji Palace last night,” Lí Xi rubbed his eyes. “The State Teacher has confirmed that the trespasser is residing at one of the city’s abbeys, so you will consult Rites Minister Xing. I trust Minister Xing will accommodate your investigation.”

Lí Rong stood out to the centre of the hall to speak. “Your Majesty, your subject has something to discuss.”

“Speak, Prince of Rongyu.”

“...yes.” Despite the sumptuous clothes and delicate cap with valuable jewels, Lí Rong almost shook as he began: “Such a serious matter falls under the purview of the Grand Court of Revision. The Ministry of Justice does not have the power to investigate this.”

At the front of the assembly, Lí Chang scowled. Everyone knows that the Grand Court of Revision is in bed with the Bai clan, he silently scolded. We need concrete answers here, not blind falsehoods that drag hard-working officials down!

“Furthermore, the Grand Court of Revision has a third Rank Chief Official[1] for the purpose of investigation.”

“If I recall, Chief Official Zhong of the Grand Court is the only one still there, yes?” Lí Xi commented. “This case requires complex coordination and much energy. I fear that the beloved subject Zhong cannot measure up to the task.”

Behind Bian Tao, an old man straightened his posture from where he had been asleep on his feet. “Y- Yes?”

“...Such a faithful official should be rewarded for his years of service.” Lí Xi looked at the Prince Rongyu, who looked rather uncomfortable himself. “The Grand Court of Revision Chief Official Zhong Qing, will henceforth be allowed to retire with a pension of five thousand strings of cash. The functions of the Grand Court will be assumed under the Ministry of Justice. Minister Bian, draw up an organisational review proposal.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Bian Tao quietly received the order with a salute.

“Prince Rongyu, does this resolve your doubts?”

“Your subject does not doubt Your Majesty’s wisdom.” Lí Rong sullenly fell back into the assembly.

“With that said…” Lí Xi thought aloud. “If I recall, Minister Xing is also busy with the upcoming Banquet of Many Stars, yes?”

The Banquet of Many Stars was a reference to the yearly homage paid by the ambassadors of the Great Yang’s tributary states. Since Yemu was the night against which the stars shone[2], this event was also called the Night Banquet of Many Stars or the Banquet of Stars[3], officially held from the seventh day of the seventh month to conclude on the fourteenth. The pomp and splendour of ten thousand kingdoms coming to pay their respects[4] for the full seven days sparked the ‘Seven Evenings’[5]: from Qixi to the eve of the Ghost Festival, it was the period of raucous celebration of the harvest out of the year. Since the Ministry of Rites also handled diplomatic relations, Minister Xing Lin was also in charge of such matters although it was mostly left to the diplomatic corps.

“Replying to Your Majesty, the New Year is indeed a trying time,” Xing Lin admitted. “In considerations for the Palace’s safety, however, your subject believes this investigation to require more immediate action. I therefore recommend that the Left Assistant Minister Ji takes over the New Year’s organisation.”

“Accepted. Rites Left Assistant Minister Ji Ke, We hope to see a good celebration to welcome the New Year.”

Another official quivered, but stepped out from behind Xing Lin to kneel and accept the order.

“With regards to the Banquet of Stars, however, your subject has something else to report,” Xing Lin’s cadence was measured but intense as she remained standing in the main aisle leading up to the dragon chair. “Amongst the ambassadorial groups coming this year, the Chidi and the Kingdom of Ling stands out.”

A murmur arose, and even Lí Chang frowned, stepping up. “Reporting to Your Majesty, Chidi and Ling stand on opposite sides of our Great Yang. Furthermore, all Ambassadors would be staying at the Sixiang Courtyard. If their representatives collude, it would be disastrous for our Great Yang.”

Lí Xi frowned. “Minister Xing, was this the problem that you spotted?”

“Replying to Your Majesty, your subject spotted a problem in the guest list,” Xing Lin reported. “The Chidi diplomatic mission is headed by the Left Wise Prince[6] Fulahun. They are possibly looking for a marriage alliance.”

“I see your point, Minister Xing,” Lí Xi sighed. “The Chidi Khan’s potential successor coming to our kingdom does merit some caution. What relation does this bear to the Kingdom of Ling, though?”

“The Kingdom of Ling...” Minister Xing hesitated. “The Kingdom of Ling’s diplomatic mission is headed by the Grand Princess Shuiyue.”

Unlike the mention of Prince Fulahun, a momentary silence greeted this proclamation before the Court descended into a mess of shouting.

“Do not let that lunatic near the borders!”

“Ling is trying to start a war, aren’t they?”

“Do you think… they’re trying to start a marriage alliance?”

“The last chieftain who tried that was _castrated_!”

War Minister Jiang spoke up, for the first time in a long while. “Your Majesty. “Reporting to Your Majesty, ever since the Princess Regent gave up power to take up her title as Grand Princess, she has been in residence at Layue Palace, ostensibly looking to leave home and pursue the Way, ignoring the demands of marriage.”

“That… does not sound like a threat,” Lí Rong refuted. “Is Minister Jiang exaggerating about the threat that this woman poses to our Great Yang?”

“Our spies do not report any suspicion of subterfuge. For the Princess to turn away from her usual patterns…”

“Minister Jiang. You don’t know Xuan Yue,” Lí Chang spoke up. “There is no such thing as a usual pattern where that lunatic is concerned. There is only the scarlet thread of murder that she carves through the weaving that is life, which you must pursue to the end. To report suspicions to the Court when we depend on your intelligence to devise appropriate policy makes this king question your spy network in Luoyang!”

“Court dismissed!” Lí Xi almost shouted. “Prince Yongchang, Prince Rongyu. I will meet both of you in the Imperial Study _right now_.”

* * *

**[1] The word used is 卿 ‘subject’, which is an old word for court officials that can also be used as an honorific title by the Emperor to address his officials. The Grand Court of Revision 大理寺, also called the Court of Judicial Review, also translates as Supreme Court, is manned by a Chief Official 大理寺卿 who has two Junior Officials under him 大理寺少卿.**

**[2] 灿若繁星 – ‘bright as a multitude of stars’, refers to extremely capable talents.**

**[3] 繁星夜宴, also shortened as 繁星宴 – invention.**

**[4] 万国朝拜 – the expression 万国来朝 is used to express many tributaries paying their respects to the Chinese Emperor. This kind of respect would usually take place around the Chinese New Year, so placing it in summer is an unusual choice.**

**[5] Qixi 七夕. The entire seventh month is usually regarded as the Ghost Month in Chinese culture – in this month, it is believed that the spirits of the dead can leave the other realms to return home and visit their families. The actual Qixi festival on the 7 th day of the 7th lunar month is the Chinese cultural equivalent of Valentine’s day. The Ghost festival itself, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, is on the 15th day of the 7th month.**

**[6] The Tuqi King (屠耆王) was a high office of the Xiongnu, a title also known to the Chinese as "worthy/wise prince/king". Two titles were awarded with each of them a commander-in-chief who derived his power from the eastern and western territories respectively. These served as two wings alongside the ruler’s main domain. The Chinese annalistic explanation was "Worthy Prince of the Left (East)" and "Worthy Prince of the Right (West)". The Tuqi King of the Left was generally designated as the successor. In the 6-8th centuries CE, Chinese annalists used the expression 贤王only when referring to the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.**


	8. 第二卷 第七回：Policy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Before Bian Tao comes here, we need to figure out which one of you is going to marry Xuan Yue."

## 第七回：Policy

“Which prince would be offered as marriage material, do you think?”

This question was posed by Rites Minister Xing Lin, who met her friend at the Bamboo Teahouse outside the august enceinte of Taiwei Hall after Court had ended. The friend in question was Justice Minister Bian Tao, who returned a wooden expression.

“You’re not involved in foreign relations, Minister Bian,” Xing Lin sighed. “So? Opinions?”

“…”

Xing Lin took a sip of tea. “You weren’t listening, were you?”

Bian Tao shook her head. “I was thinking about a conundrum for a case.”

“…you’re not going to think about other things until it’s done, yes?” Xing Lin rolled her eyes. “Fine. Case details?”

“A man was accusing a woman of pressuring a marriage by getting pregnant,” Bian Tao’s enunciation was quiet, but the two Ministers had gained a private room by using their rank and smiling at the waiter. “He produced a witness who claims that the woman bought the remains of his semen and then… used it,” she added as Xing Lin turned over her teacup. “The man wants the boy child, but not the concubine that would come with the child.”

“…I see your point,” Xing Lin finally said. “There’s nothing under the legal code that states this, yes? He wants the child, the mother refuses to give up custody unless she enters the household, there’s something that stops him from taking a concubine? Was it even worth the risk of… err, stealing the male essence?”

“There is a child involved, which should make the woman a concubine,” Bian Tao agreed. “The problem, though, is that the man wants the child but not the additional woman, and the woman will not relent despite having been offered money to drop the case. Without being able to prove that he is the child’s father, the man will be forced to take the concubine, at which the family code will enter into force.”

Long years of warfare and much interaction with the tribes on the boundaries of Great Yang had made the social status of women much equivalent to men. Women’s influence in society had yet to reach the stage of allowing ‘three husbands and four attendants’[1] for a woman, as the late Great Grand Princess[2] Kunxing had famously argued in court. However, the current Emperor’s late aunt had set the groundwork for poor female scholars like Bian Tao to enter the Court and reach high office. The legal consequences of such a change, though, was still being handled by the Ministries of Rites, Justice, Personnel, and Works.

Xing Lin hummed. “So, the conundrum lies… in that the man is unwilling to risk his morals?”

“I have sentenced the woman to the felony of misleading with intent to disrupt family life.” Bian Tao’s lips pressed together. “I do not agree with the law of choice, but it is useful in such cases. The case is closed, but it posed an interesting exercise.”

“Then why did you keep thinking about it…” Xing Lin shook her head. “The basis of the law lies in the household registration.[3] The fact that Taohua,” she added an emphasis to Bian Tao’s courtesy name, “has a record is much due to the Xing family’s influence and our Apricot Forest Academy.”

“Jiaheng, you would name the school that you set up after yourself,”[4] Bian Tao used Xing Lin’s own courtesy name here with a small smile.

“Well, let me play the teacher once more…” Xing Lin smiled across the table to her tea companion. “Which prince? We don’t have a princess of age, so to guard against Xuan Yue allying with Fulahun, we would need to offer a prince.”

“Xuan Yue, eldest princess of the Xuan family which rules the Kingdom of Ling…” Bian Tao furrowed her brows in thought. Her slow speech continued: “Titled as Grand Princess Shuiyue, an unprecedented honour from winning the Battle of Tongtian River three years ago. Even before that, the story of the seventeen-year-old princess scolding her brother Xuan Ce to adulthood and up to the throne of Ling has spread across the land under the heavens.”

“Scolding her brother to adulthood… I wish I did that to Jiajue,” Xing Lin wistfully referred to her younger brother, the General Xing Du. “Otherwise why would he be so unsophisticated?”

She said this with a look at Bian Tao.

Bian Tao sipped her tea. “A Royal Prince would be the best offer for a princess from an external kingdom. Out of the Royal Princes of the generation, the Prince of Yongchang is already married, and the Prince of Rongyu is not. There are other Royal Princes, but to entrap Xuan Yue requires attractive bait.”

“You mean, that lunatic actually has taste, and won’t take the bait for anything other than an actual blood relation with some talent,” Xing Lin scoffed. “We can’t even demand much from Ling, because we were the ones who started to sue for peace talks… what about Fulahun, then?”

“Our Court sends the Chidi tribe a princess every decade.” From Bian Tao’s tart statement, she neglected to mention that these princesses were little more than noble daughters randomly bestowed an imperial title of ‘princess’ and then sacrificed to the altar of marriage alliances. “None of them have ever become the Khatun.”

“There are smart people amongst them,” Xing Lin agreed.

“Fulahun is smart enough to recognise that allying with Great Yang would be more beneficial, though?” Bian Tao mumbled.

“If the Chidi and Ling ally, we would have to fight on two fronts, which is why His Majesty is placing so much emphasis on settling this before the Banquet of Many Stars,” Xing Lin complained. “As for his order for you to investigate the trespasser in the Palace last night, Taohua, what you need is to dig out any foreign spies. You’d need to start with the witnesses then.”

“Very good. If I rush, I should be able to conclude the first interview before sunset.”

“Interview?” Xing Lin echoed as Bian Tao stood up.

“Interviewing witnesses. There is nobody else with the rank to talk to our Emperor.”

* * *

“Before Bian Tao comes here, we need to figure out which one of you is going to marry Xuan Yue,” Lí Xi was telling his younger brothers in the Imperial Study. His lunch lay cold and untouched on a small table on one side, before an attendant hurriedly carried it away to be replaced.

“Second Imperial Brother is married, and there is no way that Imperial Eldest Brother would let that Rakshasa into the Inner Palace,” Lí Rong said. “Your brother and subject, is the only other Royal Prince.”

Lí Chang patted his shoulder in sympathy – a rare gesture amongst these two who were once bitter enemies on the political front. “There is no other reason why Xuan Yue would even look at you, little brother.”

Lí Rong sighed. “I would rather avoid her forever. Is she really as crazy as the rumours say?”

“The rumours,” said Lí Chang, “make her look like a saint. I heard that the King of Ling is far more eager to see her married off, so that she would stop monitoring his work.”

“Can I not have such a Princess Consort, Imperial Elder Brother?”

“…the Consort Dowager may beg to differ.”

“Consort Mother would rather not see an outsider as the Princess Consort of Rongyu,” Lí Rong shook his head, glancing in the direction where the Emperor’s lunch had been. “Once that happens, I would lose all affinity with the throne.”

“Little Fifth, you actually told me that you would rather be a carefree prince, and that all your efforts in Court was because of Consort Dowager Bai,” Lí Xi sighed. “I ascended to the throne, and you became your carefree prince. The Bai clan might make you propose strange fiscal policies every now and then, but you are now entirely free to ignore them, as I am entirely free to leave the Consort Dowager in Huagai Palace. Now I need you to talk to your Consort Mother, and explain to her that I, this emperor, am very unhappy about the Bai clan and if you do not receive support, I might consider executing the whole family unto the third generation.”

“…would Imperial Brother do that?”

“Little Fifth, they are your maternal relations. You’re being offered to Xuan Yue.”

Lí Rong slumped.

“You can go to the Imperial Kitchens now,” Lí Xi dismissed him, and then turned to Lí Chang. “Chang- _di_ , was I too strong on him?”

“That assumes,” Lí Chang answered, “that Little Fifth can actually hook Xuan Yue. That woman fixates on a large variety of people. Men, women, even some in between.”

“Certainly adventurous,” Lí Xi faintly sighed. “I called you here about the Chidi tribe – the red barbarians, as we say. They call themselves the Wulan?”

“Ulaan. For ‘red’,” Lí Chang clarified. “The Rites Ministry’s Bureau of Diplomatic Relations[5] claim that they name themselves after a colour because of their most venerated heroic figure – the Red-Clothed Hero, _Ulaan Bator_.”

“Red…” Lí Xi swallowed. “The JieJue Sect associates itself strongly with the colour red. Yan, Xing, Fei... these are only three of the Six Harmonious Families that made up the Sect.”

“You think that the Sect is behind the Chidi?”

“Think about what we call them.” Lí Xi rubbed his temple. “Chidi (赤狄), for ‘red barbarian’. The other families have the surnames of Jiang, Zhu, and… Chi, for ‘scarlet’. It stands to reason that the Chidi have more than a simple alliance with the Sect.”

Realisation dawned on Lí Chang. “If Imperial Brother is correct… then the JieJue Sect are colluding with foreigners!”

“The Red-Clothed Hero may be someone wearing a Clothes of the Heavens,” Lí Xi grimly agreed. “The last time that Great Yang faced the Chidi was when the Grand Lord donned Wufeng into battle. To face them… Chang- _di_ , you might have to wear it.”

* * *

**[1] 三夫四侍 – this is the gender-reversed equivalent of 三妻四妾 ‘three wives and four concubines’.**

**[2] 大长公主 – refer to footnote 3 of 第一回 about the title of ‘princess’. This title refers to the aunt of an Emperor, because when an emperor dies, and his son succeeds the throne, all the royalty of the late emperor’s generation become the elders of the new emperor’s generation.**

**[3] The _hukou_ 户口 system, also called _huji_ 户籍, is a household registration system dating back to ancient pre-imperial China. A household registration record officially identifies a person as a resident of an area, and includes identifying information such as name, parents, spouse, and date of birth. In its early forms, the system was used for taxation and conscription, as well as regulating migration, and then later used for the purposes of creating accountability. This is also where the phrase ‘nine familial exterminations’ comes from, because ancient Chinese capital punishment for very serious crimes extended not only to criminals, but also their families up to nine degrees of relations.**

**[4] Xing Lin 腥林is a homophone of 杏林, ‘apricot forest’. In Chinese culture, an apricot forest can either refer to a hospital or to an examination hall, depending on context. Nowadays it mainly refers to a traditional Chinese medicine hall.**

**[5] 主客清吏司 – Bureau of Diplomatic Relations. This is a misnomer; the actual translation works out like ‘Master-Guest Clear Functionary Bureau’. This is because of the concept of Tianxia 天下 ‘all under the heavens’. Tianxia denoted the lands, space, and area divinely appointed to the Emperor by universal and well-defined principles of order. The centre of this land was directly apportioned to the Imperial court, forming the centre of a world that centered on the Imperial court and went concentrically outward to major and minor officials and then the common citizens, tributary states, and finally ending with the fringe "barbarians". The ancient Chinese were therefore the ‘master’, and other states were ‘guests’. This worldview would persist until the Qing dynasty’s downfall.**

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to TheMadCatQueen69 for always giving us support! - LLS


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